PHOTO: X
He is one of our biggest football icons ever.
Gunnar Nordahl has also been named the best player of all time in the Allsvenskan.
The son Thomas Nordahl received the award and gave a speech that touched everyone.
Legendary football player Gunnar Nordahl will forever be remembered as a Swedish pioneer. He made his way from small Hörnefors in Västerbotten and out into the world by becoming Sweden’s very first football professional.
The icon Gunnar Nordahl
Nordahl took the Allsvenskan by storm and won four straight SM gold with IFK Norrköping and became the shooting league winner for both Degerfors and “Peking”. Then he wrote Swedish sports history by moving to Italy and becoming a club icon in AC Milan.
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Gunnar Nordahl poured in goals throughout his career and also scored 43 goals in just 33 games for the Swedish national team. On Wednesday evening, the attacking icon was named “Player of the Century” in the Allsvenskan at the gala “Allsvenskan’s Grand Prix 2024”.
Thomas Nordahl’s words
On hand to receive the award was the son Thomas Nordahlwhen Gunnar passed away in 1995. And he gave a beautiful speech about the father that went straight into the hearts of all of football Sweden, see for yourself below.
– Thank you very much! I almost start to cry, I’m half-Italian, so I have a lot of emotions. If dad had been here today, he would have been extremely happy. Partly for the award, which is very honouring, but also happy to meet old colleagues and many new footballers. He always said that he “experienced a fairy tale and it started in the Allsvenskan”, says Thomas in his acceptance speech.
– He would have been extremely grateful for this. He never forgot his roots. And he has a lot to thank the Allsvenskan for, we really have to pay tribute to the Allsvenskan tonight. Thank you for allowing me to be here tonight and a big congratulations to all the award winners. See you at the arenas!
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The heartwarming words have indeed reached all Swedes interested in football and many have been touched, see the video below.
“A historically strong choice to appoint Gunnar Nordahl as Player of the Century after his 151 goals in 169 matches and 4 SM golds in 9 seasons”, writes the presenter Tommy Åström on X.
“Not a dry eye. Fine, fine Thomas,” writes another.
“Thank you for everything you did for Beijing, you were a legend all over the world, your story will always live on. Thank you, cruel you,” writes a third.
Surely Gunnar Nordahl is a well-deserved winner? Share the article and have your say!
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